August Lawn Suggestions

August 1, 2017

Some lawns need feeding. Most Southern lawns (like Bermuda, St. Augustine and Zoysia) love to be fed at two month intervals from spring to fall for a total of about 4 feedings a year. Centipede only likes two or three feedings a year from late spring to late summer. Scotts GreenMAX Lawn Food, Scotts Turf Builder or Scotts Natural Lawn Food are good choices for this time of year. Northern lawns (like Bluegrass, Fescue and Ryegrass) appreciate two or three feedings from mid-August to Late November. As the day and night time temps drop into the 80’s or below this month, you can give your lawn the first of these important fall feedings.

This Northern lawn is looking very good in August because it has received regular feedings. (click photo to enlarge)

Problem lawns can be “killed and replaced”. This “kill and replace” strategy is for lawns troubled by the kind of grassy weeds you can’t kill without killing your good grass and for lawns you are fighting a constant battle with lawn diseases. We are approaching the best time of year to renovate cool-season grass lawns (like Bluegrass, Ryegrass and Fescue). Note: warm-season grass lawns (like Bermuda, Zoysia, St. Augustine and Centipede) are best started in late spring. Click here to link to one of my blog postings to see how this is done.

Continue to protect your lawn from insects. Tiny insects can attack your lawn during summer causing it to thin and turn brown. One indication that they may show up is when you see moths fly from your lawn when you mow or walk on your grass during early evening hours. These moths do not damage your lawn, however they lay eggs for insects like sod webworms and cutworms that can cause your lawn to thin and turn brown. Other insects, like chinch bugs can show up about the same time. You can protect your lawn while feeding it with a special summer lawn food called Scotts Turf Builder with SummerGuard. This product also takes care of other insects like fleas, ticks and ants. If your lawn does not need feeding, you can spread Ortho Bug B Gon MAX on your lawn to take care of any insect problems. Oh by the way, it is ok if you still see some moths after treating, since they do no damage. You have protected your lawn from the damage caused by their hatching eggs for about 6 weeks or so.

Lawn moths fly from the lawn during the evening or when mowing. They lay eggs for sodweborms or cutworms that can cause your lawn to thin and turn brown during summer. (click photo to enlarge)

Kill lawn weeds if they are growing. Weeds are harder to kill if they are not actively growing. Most weed controls are designed to work if your temperatures are between 60 and 90 degrees, so check the label for suggestions to get best results. Ortho Weed B Gon MAX plus Crabgrass Killer takes care of most weeds. Do not use on Floratam (a variety of St. Augustinegrass), Centipede or Bahiagrass lawns. Ortho Nutsedge Killer and Ortho Weed B Gon Chickweed & Clover Killer are also options depending on where you live and your lawn type. Note: If you are planning to put down grass seed in the weeks ahead be sure to check weed control directions for waiting periods. For example, some weed controls suggest you should wait a month after using before seeding.

Crabgrass germinated in this area where the grass was thinned from a lawn fungus problem. It is easier to kill before it gets big.